Akron’s 2015 Police Officer of the Year, who drove while intoxicated with a gun in the vehicle last month, was fined $400 and warned she will be jailed if she gets into any more trouble with the law.
Lt. Kris Beitzel accepted a plea deal in her month-old court case on Friday. Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman agreed to reduce Beitzel’s charge of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle from a fifth-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor in exchange for Beitzel’s guilty plea.
Beitzel also pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, another first-degree misdemeanor.
Her case began on July 10, when she was pulled over in Portage County by a trooper with the Ravenna post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to reports.
Pittman sentenced Beitzel to six months in jail and fined her a total of $1,075. However, she waived the jail time and $675 of the fine as long as Beitzel, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has no trouble with the law in the next two years.
Pittman also suspended Beitzel’s driver’s license for six months, but granted her driving privileges for work and several other responsibilities. The judge also ordered Beitzel to attend a three-day driving intervention program.
The judge noted Beitzel’s “stellar” employment record, an otherwise clean criminal history and her integrity in taking responsibility for her actions.
“She just made a stupid mistake,” Pittman said.
The judge told Beitzel, “I gave you the minimum [sentence] because I’d do the same for any normal person.”
When offered a chance to address the court, Beitzel — who last year was both promoted and named Officer of the Year — apologized for her actions and said she never expected to be standing in a courtroom as a defendant.
“This has been an absolutely life-changing experience,” she told the judge.
If Beitzel had fought the charges and was convicted of the felony, she could have faced the loss of her job and would have been unable to carry a firearm.
Beitzel’s attorney, Brian Pierce, said his client was happy to put the incident behind her.
He acknowledged Beitzel’s case moved through the court system much faster than many cases, but said that was because she was eager to take responsibility.
“She didn’t want to fight it,” he said. “She wanted to accept responsibility and get back to work.”
Akron police couldn’t be reached on Friday for comment about Beitzel’s employment status.
She had been on unpaid administrative leave as of earlier this week, Lt. Rick Edwards, a police spokesman, said at the time.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ngfalcon.